Special Delivery
by Airhead259
Summary: Oneshot - Katara and Aang return to Omashu and remember what had happened on their first visit.


_**Lame title, I know...-sigh- **_

_**Okay, I know I should've written the next chapter of 'Leaving', but I just had to finish this once I started it. Another oneshot, but I think this is my longest one yet! Enjoy :)**_

**_--_**

She would never forget the day when she, along with her brother and new friend, had gone sliding down the mail chutes of Omashu in a delivery cart. They had crashed through a potter's house and destroyed his latest creation, wrecked a few roofs here and there, and crushed a certain cabbage merchant's cart. She always smiled to herself when the incident came to mind.

He remembered with a smirk that he had been wearing a bushel of Appa's fur on his head and pretending to be the water tribe siblings' grandfather at the time. Of course, their cover was blown after their not-so-discreet crash landing. But still, it had been fun.

And four years later, here they were again, standing at the top of another mail chute in the same city. He was now famous worldwide as the boy who had saved the world, and she the waterbending master and powerful healer who had brought him back to life once.

Her brother had gone back to the Southern water tribe where he would soon take over as 'chief' after his father's retirement. The other members of their makeshift group had also returned to their duties: Zuko became Fire Lord and ruled the Fire Nation with Mai by his side, Suki went back to Kyoshi Island to be with the other warriors and Toph returned to her home in Gaoling, where she was surprisingly given a warm welcome by her parents.

Aang still had to travel the world to attend peace meetings and generally make sure that the four nations were getting along well. Katara decided to go along with him, since she had gotten used to travelling and found it boring to be in one place for too long. They were bound to get to Omashu eventually, and after the negotiations were over, King Bumi advised them to take a day off. The two teens were only too happy to oblige, and after roaming through the city for a while, Aang had suggested that they try riding the mail delivery system again.

"It'll be fun!" he had said happily, "For old times' sake."

Katara had nodded reluctantly and before she could even object, he had begun to lead her to the central delivery area. And now, they stood high above the tiny shops and houses, looking down at the route they would be taking. Aang's eyes shone with anticipation, while Katara's held a completely different emotion altogether.

"Um, Aang, I don't think we should be doing this…"

"Aw, c'mon Katara, it's not against the law – Bumi came up with the idea himself!"

"But still…it doesn't look safe; let's go do something else," she stated.

"Kataraaaa…" he whined, in an attempt to make her agree.

She looked up at him. His face held an expression of utter disappointment. He looked at her with 'those' eyes; the gaze he always used to convince her to do something.

"I…uh…" She had always had trouble resisting when it came to this. "UGH! Okay, fine! I'll ride with you!"

He grinned at her, another look that was meant only for her. The traces of a smile appeared on her face too. It was unavoidable – whenever he smiled, she had to smile too.

Her mind was somewhere else as he helped her into the cart. She vaguely heard him muttering something about how they should make this into an official transport system, or at least some kind of tourist attraction. However, she was brought back to the present with a jolt as she once again realized _exactly_ how high up they were.

"Aang…I…I don't feel very safe…"

"Don't worry about it – you can hold onto something."

"But I don't feel safe holding onto this cart," she murmured, "and there's nothing to hold me back if I fall…"

"Of course there is," he smirked.

Katara was about to turn around and ask him what that 'thing' was, when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her back. A deep red blush began to creep up her face. She turned her head slightly to face him. A faint blush was also visible on his cheeks, but he managed to conceal it more easily.

"I'll protect you," he whispered in her ear. She gulped.

"…okay…" she mumbled.

He let go of her for a moment and leaned his hand out of the cart, preparing to push it ahead with airbending.

"Ready?" he asked gently.

"Maybe…" she answered, but before she could say anything else, he pushed his arm back, jerking them forward on a gust of wind.

The wind howled in her ears as the cart flew faster and faster along the tracks. She could barely hear her own screaming, but she could feel Aang's arms wrapped around her, and she felt safe. The cart whizzed along, no longer needing a boost as the path wove between buildings, occasionally dipping down and jerking from side to side abruptly.

She had closed her eyes upon 'takeoff', but she soon realized that it was difficult to keep them shut. Slowly, she opened one eye, then the other and saw the roofs of Omashu rush past in a blur of green on either side of her.

She looked up at her friend at the same time that he looked down at her, and their eyes met. They both smiled at the same time, almost as if reading the others thoughts.

After a few moments, Aang reluctantly tore his eyes away from her and looked ahead. He could see a large ramp coming up, which he assumed would most likely throw the cart up a few feet in the air and give Katara quite a jolt if she wasn't prepared.

"Hey Katara," he said softly – it was a miracle she even heard him, "We're reaching our destination, but you probably want to hold on to something. It's gonna be a rough landing."

She hummed in response, and before he could register what she was doing, she latched onto him, clinging tightly.

That was the last thing he expected her to do.

He turned cherry for a few moments, but somehow managed to shake the blush from his face and concentrate on making their landing as smooth as possible. He held her tightly as they approached the ramp, and didn't let go as they jumped five feet in the air.

He slowed their landing by slowing the air currents around them almost reflexively and they hit the ground with a soft _THUNK._

Aang looked down at the girl in his arms. She had closed her eyes tightly and was still clinging to him for dear life. He nudged her with his hand.

"We're here," he whispered.

She opened her eyes and peered up at him. Then, slowly grasping their position, she blushed and pulled away from him, looking away. He shrugged and slowly got out of the cart, heedless to the fact that they had landed right in the middle of a small bazaar and people were staring at them.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked her, after he had helped her out of the cart and they were back on the streets, walking around aimlessly. They both stopped for a moment.

"To tell you the truth, it was quite bad," she replied bluntly, looking up at him, "But then again, it would've been a lot worse if I had been alone."

He nodded simply and they continued wandering.

"There's something I'd like to know though…" he murmured after a few moments.

"And what's that?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"When I asked you to hold on to something, you could've grabbed the edges of the cart, but instead, you grabbed onto me." He looked at her intently. "Why?"

"Well," she began, looking away, "Like I said before, I didn't feel very safe in that cart. I was scared to hold on to it because it didn't make me feel secure."

She turned her gaze up to meet his. His eyes were filled with genuine curiosity. She continued.

"I held on to you because I felt safe. You…make me feel safe."

He held her gaze before smiling warmly at her.

"Thank you for telling me, Katara. It makes me happy knowing that."

"Anytime."

They turned away and continued their walk. Somewhere along the way, he slipped his hand into hers. She squeezed it gently and pulled herself closer to him.

And together, they, walked hand in hand, back to the Palace.

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_**R&R if you liked it, or if you think I could improve!**_

_**-Star**_

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